Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 - A summary of the new regulations which came into force on 26 May 2008

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (the Regulations) represent the biggest change to the UK consumer protection framework for almost 40 years and will put in place a more comprehensive framework for tackling traders who exploit loopholes in the existing consumer protection legislation.

Background

The Regulations implement the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC) (UCPD) which was adopted on 11 May 2005 and aims to harmonise unfair trading laws in EU member states in order to improve the functioning of the single market. The UCPD aims to establish a single regulatory framework with uniform rules to govern unfair commercial practices across the EU.

The Regulations introduce a general prohibition on traders treating consumers unfairly and make it a criminal offence to engage in unfair commercial practices.

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